Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1887-11-13
LUCK OF LADYPRIORS.
fAu tho ycar Round.l

now. is an old Elizabethsn house that
couples pleasant isthmus in one OF the
miotest and most secluded bends OF tho
liver. And ct Ladypriors the Lil5urns
ave been settled, If not exactly since
no Conquest, anyhow since the days Of
oliver Cromwell. The place, though
ecluded, is not unfrcquented. All
through the summer the splash OF oars
nav be heard from the stream punts
re moored here and there in quiet
looks. and fishermen, and hsherwomen,
90, ply their patient task from morn to
yc. And vet waterfowl haunt the
edgy margins of the river, and IN the
haliow backwatcr the heron is some
ines to be seen poised motionless upon
lis slender limbs.
The neighboring village, too, is a 70
,orite summer-reSort, with its noted
,ostclry, the "Cross Keys" once the
lonely resort Of artists, but now rather
nmous for its little dinners and the ex-
ellent cookery Of its proprietor, Mr.
lnatole Leroy, and favored both by the
fashionable world and the magnates OF
he city.
Nor is Ladypriors itself in any way an
,bode of gloom, although there is a
,uiet, old.world aspect about it, with it's
iuaint gables. ivy-covered walls, and
visited chimney shafts suggestive
ather of dignified repose than Of active
lelight. Quiet aud dignified people, in
Iced. had been the Lilburns, with q
ouch of nusterity about their family
ype but the late Squire OF the Priors
lad been brilliant exception. In the
mrly years Of the Victorian era he had
,hone out as a gay young blade, one OF
he handles of the period, and in later
Zines be had been one of the pillars OF
he turf-an owner and breeder OF race
horses.
1t is not very far from Ladypriors to
ihe skirts of the Berkshire Downs, and
IN these downs Mr.. Lilburn's horses
we're trained under the skilful manage
nent of the famous MIR. Snafiles. Mares
and foals were kept at Ladypriors, in
whose rich, grassy paddocks brood
mares and foals roamed at will, and the
meadows Of the home farm supplied tho
nay- stacks for winter provender. In all
ais plans the Squire was Zealously aided
by his wife, who was perhaps a better
Judge than her husband in matters
equine. Anyhow, during her lifetime
The Squire scored many successes. In
the prime OF life Mrs. Lilburn was
thrown from her horse and killed, and
from that time the SQuire's luck deserted
him.
Still MIR. Lilburn chung to his favorlte
pursuit. He gave up living at Lady
oriors. and his widowed sister, Lady
Richards, took the place of his hands
One morning, some ten years after IN:
wifes death and when his son Charles
vas some four-and-twenty years old,
Squire Lilburn was found dead in his
own room, having lost heavily the day
before at Newmarket.
There was no legal Obligation on
Charles, his only son and heir, to pay
his fathers debts of honor but he did
paw them, borrowing from Mr.. Paddock,
who had been of late years his father
lawyer and chief adviser.
81 don't ask you to follow in my
footsteps, Charlie; but if You keep the
horses. that colt by Viking, out of Val
balla. | have named him 'Wayland
Smith. ought to win everything back
again"
Such was the substance of hasty,
unfinished scrawl fou.d by the son
among heap of bills, trainers accounts,
letters pressing for payment OF various
liabilities-a regular tangie OF worry and
perplexity. There was nothing here to
tempt the voung man to follow III his
fathers footsteps. Where had they led ?
To ruin, scarcely.averted disgrace, and
sudden death, perhaps suicide. This
last point would never be cleared up
The local doctor was satisfied that his
old friend had died of beart-disease and
an inquest was avoided. But Charlie
had his doubts.
MIR. Paddock, lawyer only in name,
and otherwise fnancier, Spectator,
monev-dealer, and owner of horses, was
at hand to advise. He strongly urged
Young Lilburn to sell the whole estate.
He had friend at hand who would pur-
chase OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES, the out
living farm. stock, furniture, and every
thine-at price that would leave a
doubtful margin of few thousands for
Charles benefit. Mr.. Paddock's advice
was reiterated by Lady Richards, Char
lies aunt and the present occupier OF
Ladypriors. She had always prophesied
how her brothers infatuation would
end and she held high opinion of Mr..
Paddock, who, she believed, had done
his best to extricate Mr.. Lilburn from
his difficulties.
But 70 Charlie the notion OF parting
with Ladypriors and sinking into the
position Of a nameless, landless man
was extremely bitter. He loved the
old place he loved the river along
whose banks the brightest part of hi
life had been spent. He loved the
horses, too, among which he had beer
brought up; and his dearest recollec
tions were connected with his mothe
and her pride in and love for the ole
place. And he had advisers who gav'
him more palatable counsel. Chic
among these, his sweetheart, Dell Rich
ards, the sweetest little girl in the world
the step-daughter of his aunt, Lad,
Richards.
Now Dell Richardson was the heires
of the fine property known as haise,
Combe. which at one point touched OF
the domains of Ladypriors and stretch
ed away in detached portions. wit
woods, and cornfields, and wide pas
lures. as far as the Berkshire Downs
There was an old saying in those part
often repeated by the gnarled old veal
ers of smock- frocks in the neighbor
hood, although nobody seemed to kno'
its meaning exactly:
"Lady Priors and Halsey Combe
Shall never be lost and never be won
TIN wayland Smith come out OF his tomb
As the doggerel had never been reduce
TO writing there was some dispute as I
whether "never be won " should not b
understood as "never be one" Any
how, although repeated attempts ha
been made to unite the two propertie
by matrimonial arrangements. these la
always broken down in one way or al
other.
WHY should Lady Richards object
her nephew as husband for Dell
Well, as she alleged, it was her duty
see that her daughter made a GOO
match, and, owing to her poor brother
miserable inflammation. Charles could Il